Agent: ‘Honor To Represent’ Johnny Hallyday

Pollstar reached out to Christian Bernhardt at United Talent Agency, who was Johnny Hallyday’s international agent since 2010, who said: “I was lucky enough to work with Johnny for the last chapter of his life (since 2010) and it was a great honor to represent one of the biggest French artists of all time.

AP Photo / The Canadian Press Images / Festival d – Johnny Hallyday

“Fans would come from far and wide just to see him perform live. He was still a rebel at heart and always did things his way. The production of his shows were always paramount as he never wanted to let down his fans. He always made sure that each show was better than the last.”

Previously:

Up to 1 million people took to the streets of Paris to witness Johnny Hallyday’s funeral procession. The French megastar had passed away on Dec. 6, aged 74.

The procession, escorted by several hundred bikers, went past some of the French capital’s landmarks, passing the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées, the Place de la Concorde and arriving at the church of La Madeleine, where the service took place.

In his oration on top of the church steps, France’s president Emmanuel Macron said: “My dear compatriots, you’re here for him, for Johnny Hallyday. After nearly 60 years of career, 1,000 songs, 50 albums. And you are there, still there, always there.”

He said that everybody present knew at least one Hallyday song that “translated what you had in your heart, what we had in our hearts: a love story, a mourning, a resistance, the birth of a child, a pain.”

Hallyday’s songs, which tell of happiness, misery, struggle and desire made him “an indispensable presence, a friend, a brother,” according to the president. “I know that some people today have the feeling of having lost a family member.”

During the curch service, Hallyday’s former band members played some of the singers hits, including “Que je t’aime,” “Je te promets” and “La musique que j’aime,” which ended the ceremony and had the congregation standing on their feet and clapping along.

Johnny Hallyday was France’s biggest rock star. He sold more than 100m albums throughout his career and played to a 500,000-plus audience in front of the Eiffel Tower more than once. He was buried on Sunday, Dec. 10, on the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthélemy, a millionaire’s retreat.

Many artists, mostly from France, found warm words after news of Hallyday’s passing broke, Dec. 6. Celine Dion wrote: “He was a giant of show business…a true legend! My thoughts are with his family, his loved ones and his millions of fans who love him. He will be missed, but never forgotten.” 

Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP – Johnny Hallyday Procession
The crowd watches the funeral convoy for French rock star Johnny Hallyday

Lenny Kravitz wrote on Twitter: “Farewell Dear @JohnnySjh. Your friendship, sweetness and support are imprinted in my heart. It is an honor to have known you and to have spent time with you and your beautiful family. Your soul is pure Rock and Roll. Repose en paix.”

Reporters on site in Paris said the procession reminded them of the mass turnout at the funeral of French icon Edith Piaf in 1963 and the procession in honor of England’s Princess Diana’s in 1997.